Research

OPHI research aims to contribute to an integrated poverty reduction framework grounded in Amartya Sen’s capability approach and similar ideas. This framework incorporates multiple dimensions of poverty and wellbeing simultaneously, recognizing that these are interconnected, to inform policy-making, foster debate and contribute to the scholarship.

OPHI research is categorised by two main themes:

Multidimensional Poverty, Wellbeing and Inequality: OPHI develops and applies new methodologies for measuring multidimensional poverty, chronic poverty, wellbeing and inequality. This includes a highly intuitive and user-friendly class of multidimensional poverty measures, which can be used for targeting and monitoring social policies as well as for measuring poverty.

The Missing Dimensions of Poverty Data: OPHI has developed brief survey modules for five ‘missing dimensions’ of poverty data that appear important to deprived people but have been overlooked in large scale survey work to date. These modules are: Quality of work, Empowerment, Physical safety, Without shame and Psychological wellbeing.

Alongside these main themes, OPHI works on a range of topics, including capabilities and inequality, and of different disciplines; economics, political economy, philosophy, among others.

Training courses and events

OPHI organises a wide range of events and training courses on multidimensional measurement methodologies. This includes intensive research workshops, where prospective methodologies are presented and critically assessed by eminent and junior scholars, and an annual summer school that offers participants a conceptual and technical introduction to current literature and techniques of measuring multidimensional poverty.

We also run a lunchtime seminar series which includes presentations and discussion on new research using multidimensional measurement.